Method and System for the Assessment and Rehabilitation of Neurologic Deficits

Abstract

A system and method for the assessment and therapeutic treatment of neurologic function deficits through the evaluation of voluntary and involuntary neuromuscular activity and voluntary neuromuscular responses made on demand as a response to a cognitive skills test. The system permits the remote assessment and therapy of a patient through prescribed physical and cognitive skills regimens either through the remote direction of a therapist or through an artificial intelligence system that selects and modifies regimens based upon the analysis of historical data and/or real-time data. The combination of physical and cognitive therapy to require physical responses to cognitive queries is believed to improve patient outcomes by slowing, halting, or reversing the progression of certain neurological deficits.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for the assessment of neurologic function for the purpose of at least one of medical evaluation and research, comprising:
 a. assessing neuromuscular responses by causing a person to perform at least one of a voluntary motor skill or sequence of voluntary motor skills while using at least one sensor to collect objective motion related data made in response to said voluntary motor skill; and   b. assessing cognitive skills by causing said person to indicate their response to a query through at least one responsive voluntary motor skill or sequence of responsive voluntary motor skills associated with at least one response to said query and gathering objective data related to said responsive voluntary motor skill or sequence of responsive voluntary motor skills.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said requested voluntary motor skills are at least one of gross motor skills and fine motor skills and said responsive voluntary motor skills are at least one of gross motor skills and fine motor skills. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein said cognitive skills assessed includes at least one of logical reasoning, mathematical processing, memory, image recognition, name recognition, name association, color association, color recognition, word association, word recognition, linguistic skills, reading comprehension, word recognition, word association, sound recognition, sound association, smell recognition, smell association, taste recognition, and taste association. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising the use of neuroimaging to assess cerebral activity related to at least one of requested voluntary motor skills, responsive voluntary motor skills, and cognitive skills. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein said data is utilized to perform at least one of an evaluation of present neurologic function, the creation of a baseline of neurologic function, and an evaluation of neurologic function over time. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein motion sensors are placed on body locations including at least one of a wrist, an ankle, the chest, the lower back, and the head. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein an artificial intelligence system is utilized to provide therapy for at least one of a neurologic deficit and motor skill deficit, and said data collected is utilized in at least one of a raw and mathematically transformed state to prescribe therapeutic activities based upon at least one of historical and present data. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein said artificial intelligence system is programmed to select at least one of an assessment regimen and a therapeutic regimen based upon at least one of patient capabilities and patient therapeutic needs as indicated by at least one of present assessment results and historical assessment results related to said patient's response to at least one of a requested voluntary motor skill and a responsive voluntary motor skill. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said artificial intelligence system modifies said regimens in real-time based upon present assessment results. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said system is utilized to provide at least one of a remote assessment of a patient and remote therapy of a patient. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein at least one of said remote assessment and said remote therapy is conducted with at least one of minimal or absent human supervision. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein said system communicates data and selected regimens over an electronic communications network. 
     
     
         13 . A method for the rehabilitation of patients having a neurologic function deficit for at least one of the purposes of medical treatment and research, comprising:
 a. producing neuromuscular responses in a patient by causing said patient to perform at least one of a voluntary motor skill or sequence of voluntary motor skills while using at least one sensor to collect objective motion related data made in response to said voluntary motor skill; and   b. producing cognitive responses associated with voluntary motor skills by causing said patient to indicate their response to a query through at least one responsive voluntary motor skill or sequence of responsive voluntary motor skills associated with at least one response to said query and gathering objective data related to said responsive voluntary motor skill or sequence of responsive voluntary motor skills.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said voluntary motor skills are at least one of gross motor skills and fine motor skills and said responsive voluntary motor skills are at least one of gross motor skills and fine motor skills. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein said cognitive skills include at least one of logical reasoning, mathematical processing, memory, image recognition, name recognition, name association, color association, color recognition, word association, word recognition, linguistic skills, reading comprehension, word recognition, word association, sound recognition, sound association, smell recognition, smell association, taste recognition, and taste association. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein said data is utilized in at least one of a raw and mathematically transformed state to prescribe therapeutic activities based upon historical and/or present observations. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein an artificial intelligence system is utilized to provide therapy for at least one of a neurologic deficit and motor skill deficit, and said data collected is utilized in at least one of a raw and mathematically transformed state to prescribe therapeutic activities based upon at least one of historical and present data. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said artificial intelligence system is programmed to select at least one of an assessment regimen and a therapeutic regimen based upon at least one of patient capabilities and patient therapeutic needs as indicated by at least one of present assessment results and historical assessment results related to said patient's response to at least one of a requested voluntary motor skill and a responsive voluntary motor skill. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein said artificial intelligence system modifies said regimens in real-time based upon present assessment results. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein said system is utilized to provide at least one of a remote assessment of a patient and remote therapy of a patient. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein at least one of said remote assessment and said remote therapy is conducted without human supervision. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein said system communicates data and selected regimens over an electronic communications network. 
     
     
         23 . A system for the assessment of neurologic function comprising sensors that can report three-dimensional movement. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein at least one of said sensors possesses a gyroscope and at least one of an accelerometer and a magnetometer. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 24 , further comprising sensors that report one or more of heart rate, body temperature, blood oxygenation, heart rhythm, cerebral blood flow, blood glucose, blood pressure, cerebral activity, eye movement, respiration rate, and respiratory volume. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein said sensors wirelessly communicate data to said system. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 25 , further comprising at least one of a microphone for transmitting sound made by or verbalized by a patient, a touchpad that senses touch location, a pressure sending kickpad, a pressure sensing punchpad, a dial sensor device that senses at least one of movement and force, a lever sensor device that senses at least one of movement and force, a pressure sensing finger pinchpad, and a footpad that senses at least one of pressure and pressure location. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein said touchpad bears at least one object or image to be touched and senses a touch made in response to a physical objective of at least one of an assessment or therapeutic regimen. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 27 , further comprising finger worn sensors. 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein said system is programmed to communicate a regimen of at least one of physical activities and cognitive activities to a patient, is capable of receiving and processing sensor data from said sensors, is capable of reporting results over time, and is capable of selectively modifying said communicated regimen in response to at least one of historical assessment data and current assessment data and input from a therapist so as to optimize at least one of neurologic function assessment and neurologic function therapy. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein sensor data is stored locally and electronically communicated to the system for processing.